brass doors of The Obsidian

ked voice was still echoing in his skull: "Mr. Robinson, Diana is expe

against the asphalt. He blew through three red lights, dodging traffic with re

he sterile white c

p to a dozen different machines. Tubes ran down her throat. The heart monit

glass doors. His face was grim. He held a

" the doctor said, his voice tight. "If we don't get a f

octor by the lapels of his white coat

ago!" Alex roared, his eyes bloodshot a

reaction... it destroyed the red blood cells f

e out, and he slid down the cold wall until he hit the fl

erson in the entire city with that bl

old to get the hel

s pocket. He opened his contacts, found the nu

.. sounded like a countdown to an execu

partment building tucked away in a forgotten distri

a high-end laptop screen glowed, displaying complex stock

ted on the wobbly coffee tab

smirk touched the

let it ring for ten seconds. Twelve. Fourteen. Right as the call was

wered, her voice

, ragged breathing. In the background, the

is arrogance, was completely gone. "Please. I'm b

aptop shut, instantly cutting off th

dripping with icy detachment. "Our

st into the hospital wall. The skin on his knuckl

ut, his voice shaking with suppressed rage and

my window, looking down at the trash-filled

dy edge, "I want double the monthly rate for every p

He wanted to reach through the

d the guillotine. "Third. I want to move back into

d. She had run from him in terror. She had looked at his face

demanded, his voice dropping to a dang

gh. She played the role of the brai

be honest. Nobody else in this city is stupid

logic, actually made sense to him. It erased his p

ground his teeth togeth

," he

s of the fake slum apartme

n a pair of faded, cheap jeans and an oversized, washed-out sweat

the black SUV cut through the darkness of the sl

d out into the freezing drizzle. He

d down the m

He looked at her not as a savior, but as a bloods